Procrastination
by Pretty.Little.Liars
Summary: Hard work often pays out over time, but laziness pays off now. ---- ShikamaruOC.


**Title:** Procrastination  
**Author:** Ugly.Beautiful  
**Genre:** Romance / General  
**Rating:** T for underage smoking  
**Pairing:** hinted Shikamaru x OC  
**Spoilers:** Slight reference to what happened when Asuma fought Hidan, but nothing major  
**Summary:** Hard work often pays out over time, but laziness pays off now.  
**Word Count: **1,064

**Disclaimer:** _Naruto_ is no closer to being mine than the moon is. And the summary is something I saw on despair .com

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"SHIKAMARU!" 

The dark-haired chounin rolled his eyes, shoving his hands deeper in his pockets. "Tch. So troublesome," he muttered as he began to walk away from the main section of Konoha.

He knew what that old hag Tsunade was screaming about. Lazy Shikamaru Nara, lazy chounin genius, skipping out of his teaching duty at the Academy. _Again_.

"Tch," he scoffed. Like he _wanted_ to teach self-absorbed seven-year-olds how to throw sharp metal objects at one another. Not him, that was for sure. Who the hell do you think they flew at when the brats missed their target? Him, that's who!

_Besides,_ he thought as he headed towards a field that he knew was usually empty, _it's not like there aren't any chounins hanging around town. Half the Rookie 9 has nothing to do. She can just get one of them to teach for a change._

The field the boy came upon could have been called beautiful if it wasn't too troublesome to do so. The wide field was full of flowers and butterflies, and the occasional patch of trees. And luckily for him, the bright blue sky was dotted with clouds. A perfect day for cloud watching. An excellent reason (in his mind, anyway) to be shirking his duty as a teacher for the youth of Konoha.

Glancing around in habit to check the area for traps and/or enemy shinobi, Shikamaru noticed a young woman entering the field a few yards away. He eyed her, sizing her up. The Konoha forehead protector he noticed shining around her ankle, made him slightly less wary of her.

For a second, she glanced up at him, sensing his presence no doubt and feeling his stare. Her clear silver eyes (almost like Neji's save hers had a pupil) met his brown one's before she turned away and tilted her face towards the sun as she closed her eyes.

Shikamaru shook his head. What the point of being out here on a day like this if you weren't going to look at the clouds? You definitely couldn't do that with your eyes closed.

Shikamaru ran his fingers lightly over the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. It wasn't the same one Asuma had given him… on that day, but the sentiment was the same. Putting one between his lips as he settled on the ground, he lit it idly while watching the clouds.

If he listened closely he could still here Tsunade ranting. _So troublesome…_ He took a drag.

He barely held back a jump as a face appeared suddenly over his head, practically breathing in the smoke.

"Smoking is back for you," the girl informed him, flipping her shoulder-length blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Hn," Shikamaru said, trying to get over his fright (damn but she was quiet!). "It's not really your problem is it?"

"Yeah, well," she plucked the cigarette from his mouth and placed it between her lips. "It kinda is," she mumbled around the cigarette, "because you're smoking in my meadow."

Shikamaru sat up so he was sitting cross-legged facing the girl. "Your meadow?"

She took a drag. "Yep, my meadow." She made a face and handed the cigarette back to Shikamaru. "Don't know what the appeal is."

Taking the cigarette back from her he tentatively asked, "Why is this your meadow?"

Flopping down beside the chounin, she stretched out on the ground, letting her eyes slide closed. "I come here at this time after every mission, because most people are working, all the younglings are at school, and the shinobi are either on missions or relaxing. It's quiet here. And you're never here, so… mine." She smiled at him, even though her eyes were closed.

Trying to ignore the way his teenage mind immediately informed him of how long her legs were and how soft her hair looked, he scoffed. "It's too troublesome to leave." After a moment, he asked her who she was.

"Kita," she said. "You're Shikamaru, right? You probably don't remember me, but I was in your class, I-"

"You're the loudmouthed girl in the back, right?"

"Hey! You _do_ remember me!" She exclaimed, opening her eyes to grin at him.

"You talked more than Naruto," he said. "Tch. So troublesome."

She shrugged. "I like to be heard. Out here though… it's peaceful. I don't have to talk or anything. I can just listen."

"You know, you can't see the clouds with your eyes closed."

Finally opening her eyes she asked, "Cloud gazing? Tch. Who wants to do that?"

Shikamaru didn't say anything, letting the silence speak for itself.

"What's so appealing about the clouds anyway?" She commented, closing her eyes again. "They're never the same, they're unreliable. The sun is always there, even if you can't see it, it's always there."

Trying to think back about what he remembered about Kita from his days at the Academy, he recalled something vague about her family. "Your parents were killed by Kyuubi, weren't they?"

He saw her eyelid twitch and realized he probably shouldn't have said anything. "Yeah…" She sighed. "That's why I like the sun. It never goes away."

"… Life is so troublesome sometimes, I wish I could just float threw life without a care."

She grinned up at him. "Like a cloud?"

"Hai," he agreed, "like a cloud."

For a few minutes, the two were content to just sit there. Kita stretched out on the ground basking in the sunlight. Shikamaru sat beside her, leaning back on his hands, and watching the clouds go by.

Finally though, Kita stirred and began to stand.

Before he even realized his mouth was moving, Shikamaru asked, "Where are you off to?"

"Well," she sounded surprised at the question. "I can't sit here all day, can I?"

"Why not?"

"Well… because I have things to do."

"So?"

"Shikamaru-"

"People don't normally have the patience to sit with me." He sighed. "It's troublesome but, you want to hang out with me here today?"

"Well…" Kita glanced back towards Konoha before settling on the ground beside Shikamaru.

"You know, I'm glad I came out here today."

He nodded in agreement.

"I didn't want to teach the kids anyway. Some lazy ass chounin skipped out on his duties and Tsunade was gonna make me fill in. Glad I came here instead."

For a second, there was silence, and then Shikamaru threw back his head, and laughed.

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**A/N:** I heart Shikamaru. He is so cool. When him and Ino and Chouji and Kakashi were fighting those two guys from Akatsuki, I was like, "Damn, he's cool." 


End file.
